The Strongest Heart
by Fusion Isle
Summary: Let me ask you a question. How many Rika fics have you read? Takato fics? Henry fics?... You probably have not read many Jeri or Kenta fics at all. They are the most underrated and disrespected Digimon characters of all time. This is my tribute to them.


Okay, first of all, I made this fanfic because I was looking through Digimon fics and wonder why certain characters are hated so much. This story is a tribute to Jeri and Kenta, the two most underrated characters of Digimon Tamers. If you are disrespectful of these characters, leave NOW, because your hate for them won't be expressed here.  
  
Disclaimers: I don't own Digimon or any of its characters.  
  
The Strongest Heart  
  
Chapter One: Of Blood and Tears  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Jeri walked home happily after the first day of ninth grade. She had just found out she was in Takato's class again. She smiled to herself. 'Takato is so nice. I can't believe he made me cream puffs for a snack today! And they look like Calumon's head too.' Jeri thought to herself.  
  
She giggled as she pictured the sugary puffs shaped messily into the cute Digimon's head. There was even a strawberry jam in the middle that was made into a triangle like the symbol on Calumon's forehead.  
  
Jeri finally reached her house and found a note on the doorstep. It read:  
  
~Dear Jeri,  
  
You're father and I are going out for a while. Masahiko is left at the baby- sitter's so expect a call from her at 6:00. I know you can take care of yourself now. You're all grown up! The bar's closed so don't worry about that. Now be good and be sure to pick up your brother at Ms. Ayani's house, okay sweetie?  
  
Lots of love,  
  
Your Mother~  
  
Jeri smiled softly at the letter. She had grown very close to her step- mother and has come to accept her as a parent over the year. She will never replace her true mother, but she is just as caring. Jeri folded up the letter and closed the door behind her. It was now 4:47.  
  
"Looks like I'm going to have to pick Masahiko up soon. But... For the moment I guess I'll just have to relax. I don't have homework on the first day anyway."  
  
The girl threw off her shoes and headed upstairs. She released her hair from her side ponytail and shook it, making a cluster of hair fall messily. She put down her yellow ribbon and brushed her reddish-brown hair. Lately she has been concerned about her appearance, but being a teenager, it's only natural.  
  
She set down the brush and turned on her new computer which she got last Christmas. With a flash the screen greeted her with a bright yellow background and a 'welcome' voice. Jeri sat down at her desk and checked her e-mail. She had two; one from 'guilmon_dreamer', who was obviously Takato and one from Reaper006, which Jeri had no clue who it was.  
  
She clicked on Takato's e-mail first. She read her message aloud.  
  
"Hey Jeri, how's it going? I've just got this letter saying they're holding a party for all the tamers who saved Japan! Did you get one too? Oh what am I saying, of course you did! I really hope you come, 'cuz, well there's games, food and everything. Kazu called and he's really excited. Heh, he's excited about anything. Good old Kazu. Uh... I'm straying off the subject aren't I? Well, Rika, Henry and surprisingly Ryo are able to come. Suzie's too young to go, and Henry says she'd rather play with her dolls at home anyway. So, I hope to see you there! It's west of the park where we used to meet and 5:00 today.  
  
Your friend, Takato."  
  
Jeri smiled at the message, but frowned she didn't get an invitation. 'But Kenta didn't either. Why? He helped out a lot with MarineAngemon, or Rika said so.'  
  
She brightened at the second message. Maybe it was her invitation! She clicked on it. When she saw the e-mail, she was very confused. It was made of nothing but numbers. Then she saw and attachment. She clicked on that and instantly heard a fuzz of static. She caught a few words along with it too.  
  
"Jeri Katou....... D-Reaper.... J-reaper #006.... Human emotions irrelevant... Return.......Btttzzzzzz!!!!!"  
  
"Aaaaah!" Jeri shielded her eyes as a bright light flashed and her computer aborted with a zap.  
  
She blinked as she lowered her hands in surprise. Her computer was fried and traces of electricity engulfed it.  
  
"Looks like a virus... Weird..." Jeri looked at the clock, which was now 4:55.  
  
She gasped audibly. "Oh no! I'm supposed to be there at 5:00 today!"  
  
Despite she didn't get an invitation, she wouldn't let Takato down by not going. She clobbered through piles of clothes, deciding what to wear. She spotted a nice purple blouse and a navy blue skirt, and an outfit of mint green shorts and a yellow t-shirt.  
  
"Dressy or casual? Dressy or casual? Dressy, casual?" Jeri looked between the outfits and asked herself the same question over and over again trying to decide. It was now 4:57.  
  
"OH!" She threw her hands up and grabbed the purple blouse and mint green shorts and went into the bathroom. She quickly dressed and pulled her hair into two pigtails, a style she normally wouldn't wear.  
  
The clock chimed 5:00. Jeri groaned as she knew she would be at least 5 minutes late. She took her Digimon cards with her in case Kazu would bother her again about them and sped toward the stairs. She was in so much of a hurry that she tripped and rolled down the jagged path.  
  
"AH!" Jeri's backside hit the wall and she winced slightly in pain. Her arms and legs were bruised but she quickly stood up and went out the door, slamming it shut behind her.  
  
Jeri ran through the streets of where she lived tiredly. "I'm never going to make it. The party is probably going to last for an hour and I have to pick up Masahiko at six!" the girl huffed as she continued running.  
  
After a while, Jeri had finally reached her destination. It was a large building that she hadn't noticed before when visiting the park where Guilmon hid in.  
  
"Wow. It's so big." Jeri murmured as she slowly headed inside. She looked at a nearby clock and saw it was 5:15. She took her eyes off it and they fell on a sullen looking Takato leaning on the wall. Jeri quietly walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The teen looked up at her in surprise.  
  
"Jeri! I thought you'd never come."  
  
"I'm sorry if I was late. And don't be silly! Of course I would come! If you wanted me to..." She blushed at the last comment.  
  
Takato smiled cheerfully. "Great! So, do you have your invitation with you?"  
  
Jeri looked down. "I didn't get one, Takato."  
  
"Well, that's okay! Kenta didn't have one and he still came! Come on, the party's upstairs!" Takato grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the elevator.  
  
Jeri, surprised by the gesture, started to run along with him.  
  
Takato anxiously pressed the 12 button. "Wait 'til you see! It's great!"  
  
The elevator reached the twelfth floor and opened up. Jeri gasped at the sight before her. It was beautiful. Bright chandeliers hovered above them and the floor was carpeted with a red velvet material. Tables were set with white, clean cloths with a single candle placed on each of them.  
  
"It looks more like a romantic dream... Maybe I should have been dressy." Jeri said in awe.  
  
Takato chuckled at her reaction. "Nah, you didn't have to dress up. But you should see Rika! Don't laugh at her, though. She'd kill us!"  
  
As if on cue, Rika showed up, wearing a dress. It was a dark blue color with no sleeves and came up to the middle of her shins. Her hair was let down. She glared at Takato, but her eyes softened at the sight of Jeri.  
  
Ignoring Takato, she greeted Jeri with a smile. "Hi Jeri. What's up?"  
  
"I'm fine, Rika. You look so nice today! I love your dress. You know, you should wear dresses more often. They look very nice on you!" Jeri complimented.  
  
"Thanks. But my mom made me wear this. So don't say a word Gogglehead!" She shot a look at him.  
  
Henry chose this moment to greet the two also. "Hey Takato, Jeri." He curtsied.  
  
"Henry don't be so polite! We're your friends. Momentai." Takato said.  
  
Henry laughed at this. "Yeah, you're right. Momentai." He agreed.  
  
In the corner, Jeri saw Kazu and Kenta worshipping Ryo in a funny way.  
  
She walked over to them to say hello. "Hi Kazu. Hi Kenta. Who's this?"  
  
"Oh hi Jeri. This..." Kazu jumped right next to the guy with the spiked hair. "Is the Digimon king, Ryo Akyama!"  
  
"Hello Ryo. I've heard great things about you from Rika." Jeri bowed.  
  
"Hey, no need for formalities. And you must be... Jeri, right? The girl we saved from the D-Reaper?" Ryo asked.  
  
Somehow, Jeri didn't like the way he put his words together. 'True, I was saved from the D-Reaper, but that just doesn't seem right...' She pushed her thoughts aside and put on a smile.  
  
"Yes, that's me. Thank you."  
  
She then turned to Kenta, who was quiet all this time. "Takato said you didn't get an invitation."  
  
He looked down sheepishly. "Yeah, well, Kazu wanted me to go and besides, Ryo's here so how can I resist? I'm his number one fan!"  
  
"No I'm his number one fan you moron!" Kazu argued.  
  
"I am!"  
  
"I am!"  
  
"No I am!"  
  
"I AM!"  
  
"IIIIIII AAAAAAAAMMMM!!!"  
  
"Says you geek!"  
  
"Dork."  
  
"Four-eyes!"  
  
"Hideous freak of nature!"  
  
"WHY YOU!" The two bit back.  
  
Jeri and Ryo sweatdropped. "Um... I think I'll be going now. Bye Ryo." She looked at the two again, suppressed a laugh, and then returned to where Takato was. She saw he was arguing about something with Henry and Rika.  
  
"Jeri is too a tamer!"  
  
"You're acting like a kid, Takato. And even though Jeri's my best friend, she's not a tamer... I mean, she doesn't even have a Digimon anymore!" Rika told Takato, who was flaming with anger now.  
  
"What makes you think she's not apart of us?"  
  
"She barely helped! Look, Jeri's a sweet girl and you're really lucky to have her even as just a friend, but she's not really one of us. Only you, Henry, Ryo and I are real tamers." Rika tried to explain.  
  
"She's right Takato. If she was a tamer, why didn't she get an invitation?" Henry asked calmly, not wanting to offend anyone.  
  
"Kazu got one. And if Suzie wasn't so young she would have gotten one too!"  
  
"They did SOMETHING major."  
  
"You can't leave Kenta and Jeri out of this! Look at them! They're looked down upon!" Takato reasoned.  
  
"Yes I know. But they haven't done much at all. So... Technically, they're not,"  
  
"I don't care how you look at those two. They're my friends and it doesn't matter if they're tamers or not. Okay? So just, leave the subject alone! I don't even know why we started this in the first place." Takato spat bitterly.  
  
"Don't you get it Gogglehead? You're blinded because you like Jeri so much! It's the truth you idiot!"  
  
"You always have to argue until you're right, don't you? You always want your way... Well then fine. But to me, Kenta and Jeri are just like any of us and they have the same importance to me. Rika, Henry, you don't know how wrong you are to diss them like that." Takato walked away with an angry look in his eyes.  
  
"Poor kid. He doesn't know. I guess I'm kinda wrong about Jeri and Kenta though." Rika said admittedly.  
  
Henry just shook his head and sighed. "He might misunderstand some things sometimes, but he's got his heart in the right place." He said wisely.  
  
"Stop acting like a preacher. It makes you look old." Rika joked.  
  
"Well, I gotta start a job anyway."  
  
Away from the conversation, Jeri kept her back to the wall listening to every word. Her heart sank at what Henry and Rika said. 'I'm not... A real tamer? And Kenta isn't either...? Maybe... Maybe they're right. All I did was get in their way. But still! Kenta deserves some credit! If it weren't for MarineAngemon and him, the others wouldn't have made it out of the D- Reaper alive!' She thought, feeling unwanted and felt sorry for Kenta.  
  
"Jeri! There you are! I've been looking for you." Takato put on a quick façade to hide his anger and sadness.  
  
"Huh? Oh, hi Takato. I was just thinking about something, that's all."  
  
"Come here. I've got something to show you." Takato beckoned her to come with him.  
  
Jeri was reluctant but followed him anyway. She was still grateful for him to stand up for her like that, as well as Kenta; it made her feel comfortable to she was appreciated by at least someone.  
  
Takato led her to the end of the room with something behind his back that Jeri couldn't see. She followed him up the stairs to a door.  
  
He opened it and let her pass before him. The sight before her was even more magnificent than when she saw the room inside the building.  
  
Jeri walked forward and saw everything from the rooftop. The sky was painted a crimson color that reminded her of the majestic warrior, Gallantmon who saved her. The color faded into a deep magenta and into a pinkish lavender. The clouds were all puffed and spread about like cotton candy and drifted slowly across the sky silently. But most breathtaking of all was the glowing sun. The golden jewel was enormous in size and it sunk slowly beneath the horizon.  
  
Jeri took a few seconds to take it all in. It reminded her of the day she first saw Leomon, and had left her. She was heartbroken, and didn't have a chance to see the sunset because she was blinded by grief.  
  
Now, she had a chance to see what she couldn't before. Jeri smelled the fresh, crisp air around her and sighed deeply in content.  
  
"Do you know what today is?" Takato stepped beside her. Jeri looked at him confused. "No,"  
  
Takato's head bowed down slightly. "It's the day Leomon became your partner." He looked at her square in the eyes. "The truth is, I already got the invitation earlier before. But, I asked them to change the day so it would be special for you. I'm sorry about Leomon, and I always have been. I wanted to make this day the best day for you because you've been through so much."  
  
Jeri's eyes widened in shock and happiness. She had a strong urge to hug the boy next to her, but thought better of it. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."  
  
Takato took out what he was hiding behind his back. It was a beautiful red rose.  
  
Takato was blushing heavily all of a sudden. "I-I've always wanted to know..."  
  
Jeri waited patiently. "Know what?"  
  
"If... If you..." Takato gathered up all his courage in one deep breath. "I wanted to know if you've ever liked, me..." Takato was as red as a tomato now.  
  
Jeri blinked. "Of course. You're my friend, how could I not like you?"  
  
Takato scratched his head nervously. "No... What I mean to say is... Have, have you ever... Loved me?"  
  
He quickly handed the rose to Jeri, who accepted it tenderly. She looked at the rose with soft eyes, then at Takato. "Yes, Takato. I have."  
  
Takato's eye's brightened and they shined with hope.  
  
"But... I'm sorry."  
  
Takato felt his heart plunder into his stomach. Does that mean she was lying?  
  
"I like you. I like you a lot. But I'm not ready. I'm so sorry Takato. But, I'm not really ready love." With that Jeri turned the other way and ran down the stairs and out the apartment door, leaving everyone standing there confused.  
  
Takato felt his eyes water slightly. The girl he liked so much had just slipped away without a good reason. He didn't understand. With a broken heart, he returned to the dull party below.  
  
Outside, Jeri was running with the rose clenched in her fist. A thorn pricked her skin but she didn't care. It kept on bleeding non-stop and her tears flowed out of her eyes. Blood and tears mixed with each other of hurt and pain. 'I'm sorry I let you down Takato. I am so sorry.'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
There will be a Kenta chapter next. I'm saying again, if you don't like these two characters, beat it. ^^;; I'm rude, I know, but the people who bash Jeri and Kenta are rude too!! This would probably end up as a result of a Rukato, but don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of this couple. Still, they're not getting the spotlight. You can find that elsewhere if you wanna read about them. I know it's slightly OOC and sappy, but hey, my first Digi fic. I'm not expecting any reviews on this, but go ahead and leave a flame if you want. Positive reviews are always welcome though. You'll get feedback from me in the next chapter. 


End file.
